St. Symphorosa

Saint Symphorosa
Wooden statue depicting Symphorosa, housed in the church of Sant'Antonio Abate di Tossicia
Martyr
Died	~138 AD The Anio (Aniene), Tibur (Tivoli), Italy
Venerated in	Catholic Church
Major shrine	Sant'Angelo in Pescheria, Rome
Feast	18 July
Attributes	Seven sons, martyr's palm
Patronage	Tivoli

Symphorosa (Italian: Sinforosa; died ca. 138 AD) is venerated as a Christian saint. According to tradition, she was martyred with her seven sons at Tibur (modern Tivoli, Italy) towards the end of the reign of the Roman emperor Hadrian (117–138).

The story of their martyrdom is told in an old Passio, the reliability of which is seriously questioned by many modern hagiologists. According to this Passio, Symphorosa was a Tiburtine matron, the widow of the tribune Getulius, who had previously been martyred under Emperor Hadrian at Gabii (now Torri), a town of the Sabines.

When Hadrian had completed his costly palace at Tibur and began its dedication by offering sacrifices, he received the following response from the gods: "The widow Symphorosa and her sons torment us daily by invoking their God. If she and her sons offer sacrifice, we promise to give you all that you ask for."

When all the emperor's attempts to induce Symphorosa and her sons to sacrifice to the Roman gods were unsuccessful, he ordered her to be brought to the Temple of Hercules, where, after various tortures, she was thrown into the river Anio with a heavy rock fastened to her neck.

Her brother Eugenius, who was a member of the council of Tibur, buried her in the outskirts of the city.

The next day, the emperor summoned Symphorosa's seven sons, and being equally unsuccessful in his attempts to make them sacrifice to the gods, he ordered them to be tied to seven stakes erected for the purpose round the Temple of Hercules. Their members were disjointed with windlasses.